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Cooke first performed publicly with his brother and two sisters in their Baptist quartet, the Soul Children . As a teenager he joined the Highway QCs, before replacing Rebert ‘R.H.’ Harris in the Soul Stirrers. Between 1951 and 1956 Cooke sang lead with this innovative gospel group. The Soul Stirrers recorded for the Specialty label where the singer's popularity encouraged producer ‘Bumps’ Blackwell to provide Sam with pop material, disguised under the pseudonym 'Dale Cook' to avoid offending the gospel audience. Initially content, the label's owner, Art Rupe, then objected to the sweetening choir on a follow-up recording, You Send Me, and offered Cooke a release from his contract in return for outstanding royalties. The song was then passed to the Keen label, where it sold in excess of 2 million copies. Sam left the label for RCA where Chain Gang (1960), Cupid (1961) and Twistin' The Night Away (1962), displayed a pop craft later offset by such grittier offerings as Bring It On Home To Me and Little Red Rooster. Cooke also founded the Sar and Derby labels. Cooke's own career remained in the ascendant with (Ain't That) Good News and Good Times but the purity of such music made his tawdry fate all the more perplexing. On 11 December 1964, following an altercation with a girl he had picked up, the singer was fatally shot by the manageress of a Los Angeles motel.

Gaye was named after his father, a minister in the Apostolic Church. The spiritual influence of his early years played a formative role in his musical career, particularly from the '70s onwards, when his songwriting shifted back and forth between secular and religious topics. He abandoned a place in his father's church choir to team up with Don Covay and Billy Stewart in the R&B vocal group the Rainbows. In 1961, he married Berry Gordy's sister, Anna, and was offered a solo recording contract. Renamed Marvin Gaye, he began his career as a jazz balladeer, but in 1962 he was persuaded to record R&B, and notched up his first hit single with the confident Stubborn Kind Of Fellow, a Top 10 R&B hit. In 1965, Gaye dropped the call-and-response vocal arrangements of his earlier hits and began to record in a more sophisticated style. Gaye allowed his duet recordings to take precedence over his solo work, but in 1968 he issued the epochal I Heard It Through The Grapevine, the record represented a landmark in Motown's history—not least because it became the label's biggest-selling record to date. But his career was derailed by the insidious illness and eventual death of Tammi Terrell in March 1970. Devastated by the loss of his close friend and partner, Gaye spent most of 1970 in seclusion. The following year, he emerged with a set of recordings which Motown at first refused to release, but which eventually became his most successful solo album, WHAT'S GOING ON. Gaye's next project saw him shifting his attention from the spiritual to the sexual with LET'S GET IT ON. Its explicit sexuality marked a sea change in Gaye's career; as he began to use cocaine more and more regularly. In 1980 under increasing pressure from the Internal Revenue Service, Gaye moved to Europe. Persistent reports of his erratic personal conduct and reliance on cocaine fuelled pessimism about his future career, but instead he re-emerged in 1982 with a startling single, Sexual Healing. He returned to the USA, where he took up residence at his parents' home. The intensity of his cocaine addiction made it impossible for him to work on another album, and he fell into a prolonged bout of depression. He repeatedly announced his wish to commit suicide in the early weeks of 1984, and his abrupt shifts of mood brought him into heated conflict with his father.

Following the painful collapse of the Beatles, he came out a wiser but angrier person. Together with his wife Yoko Ono, he attempted to transform the world through non-musical means. Their bed-in in Amsterdam and Montreal, their black bag appearances on stage, their innocent flirting with political activists and radicals, all received massive media attention. Lennon's solo career began with UNFINISHED MUSIC NO 1—TWO VIRGINS. The sleeve depicted him and Yoko standing naked. Give Peace a Chance, Cold Turkey arrived via the Plastic Ono Band, consisting of John, Yoko, Eric Clapton, Klaus Voorman and drummer Alan White. Lennon's incorrigible wit worked when he sent back his MBE to the Queen, protesting about the Biafran war, Britain supporting the American involvement in Vietnam and Cold Turkey slipping down the charts. The release of JOHN LENNON— PLASTIC ONO BAND in January 1971 was a shock to the system for most Beatles’ fans. This stark ‘primal scream’ album was recorded following treatment with Dr. Arthur Janov. It is as brilliant as it is disturbing. John poured out much of his bitterness from his childhood and adolescence. Lennon's Dylanesque Working Class Hero is another stand-out track, in less vitriolic tone he croons ‘A working class hero is something to be, if you want to be a hero then just follow me’; the irony is that John was text-book middle-class and his agony was that he wanted to be working class. 1971 was to be his most creative year; following the album was another strong single Power To The People and after his move to New York, IMAGINE was released in October. The title track, however, remains as one of his greatest songs. The following year SOMETIME IN NEW YORK CITY was issued; this double set contained a number of political songs, and was written during the peak of Lennon's involvement with yippie-radical, Jerry Rubin. The album's strongest track is yet another song with one of Lennon's statement-like titles; Woman Is the Nigger Of The World. The following year he embarked on his struggle against deportation and the fight for his famous ‘green card’. At the end of a comparatively quiet 1973, John released MIND GAMES, an album that highlighted problems between him and Yoko. Shortly after Lennon left for his ‘lost weekend’ and spent many months in Los Angeles in a haze of drugs and alcohol. During a brief sober moment he produced Nilsson's PUSSYCATS. At the end of a dreadful year, John released WALLS AND BRIDGES, which contained more marital material and a surprise US number 1, Whatever Gets You Through The Night. That month (November 1974), he made his last-ever concert appearance when he appeared onstage at Madison Square Garden with Elton John. That night John was reunited with Yoko and in his words ‘the separation failed’. Following the birth of their son Sean, John became a house husband, while Yoko looked after their not inconsiderable business interests. Five years later, a new album was released to a relieved public and went straight to number 1,

The Brooklyn-born rapper, The Notorious B.I.G., first gained attention for his work on Mary J. Blige's "What's the 411?" When he delivered his debut album, Ready to Die, in 1994, it became one of the most popular hip-hop releases of the year. In June of 1995, his single "One More Chance" debuted at number five in the pop singles chart, tying Michael Jackson's "Scream/Childhood" as the highest-debuting single of all time. Ready to Die continued to gain popularity throughout 1995, eventually selling two million copies. With its success, the Notorious B.I.G. became the most visible figure in East Coast hip-hop, and he became a target in the heated feud between the two coasts; especially, he and Tupac Shakur, a former ally, became vicious rivals.

As the Notorious B.I.G. was preparing his second album, Shakur was shot and killed in Las Vegas. Many in the media speculated that Biggie's camp was responsible for the shooting, accusations that he and his producer, Sean "Puffy" Combs, vehemently denied. However, the wheels had been set in motion for another tragedy.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The murder of rapper Soulja Slim echoed the violence of his profanity-laced songs, which told of gangs, drugs and drive-by shootings. The artist, whose real name was James Tapp, was shot Wednesday night on the front lawn of the two-story duplex he'd bought for his mother in New Orleans' Gentilly neighborhood. To some, the 25-year-old was poised to capture the rap scene, to get a music video on MTV and maybe make it bigger than his childhood friends, rappers Master P and C-Murder. His stepfather, who asked that his name not be used, said envy of Tapp's swift rise may have motivated the killing. The rapper was shot at least three times in the face and once in the chest. Witnesses said they saw a man in dark clothing fleeing afterward. Police had no suspects in custody on Friday. Tapp's stepfather said the performer's dark themes weren't meant to incite violence, but rather to expose the chaos of "ghetto life'' so it might be cured. He said Tapp broke no laws after ending a four-year prison stint in 2001 for a parole violation. Tapp had been convicted of armed robbery in 1995. Master P, New Orleans' most famous rapper, appeared on several tracks of Tapp's first album, "Give It 2 'Em Raw.'' Tapp's second album, "The Streets Made Me,'' was released by Master P's No Limit Records. Tapp left No Limit in 2002 and released "Years Later'' on his own Cut Throat Committy label. ~AP

Tupac Shakur became the unlikely martyr of gangsta rap, becoming the tragic symbol of hardcore rap. The son of two Black Panther members, Tupac Amaru Shakur was born in New York City. His parents had separated before he was born, and his mother moved him and his sister around the country for much of their childhood. At the outset of his career, it didn't appear that he would emerge as one of the definitive rappers of the '90s, especially since he was a second-string rapper for Digital Underground, joining after they had their biggest hit. But in 1992, he delivered an acclaimed debut album, 2Pacalypse Now, which quickly followed with a star-making performance in the urban drama, Juice. Over the course, of one year his profile raised substantially, as he became as well-known for his run-ins with the law as he did for his music. By 1994, 2-Pac was rivaling Snoop Doggy Dogg as the most controversial figure in rap, as he was spending as much time in prison as he was in the recording studio. His burgeoning outlaw mythology helped his 1995 album Me Against the World enter the charts at number one, and it also opened himself up to charges of exploitation. Yet, as the single "Dear Mama" illustrated, he was capable of sensitivity as well as violence. Unfortunately, the gangsta lifestyle he captured in his music soon overtook his own life. Signing with Death Row Records in late1995, Shakur released the double-album All Eyez on Me in the spring of 1996, and the record, as well as its hit single "California Love," confirmed his superstar status. While his celebrity was at its peak, he was publicly fighting with his rival the Notorious B.I.G. and there were tensions brewing at Death Row. At the time of his murder in September 1996, there were indications that Shakur was considering leaving Death Row, and maybe even rap, behind. None of those theories can ever be confirmed, just as the reasons behind his shooting remain mysterious.
Shakur was shot on the Las Vegas strip as he was riding in the passenger seat of Knight's car. They had just seen the Mike Tyson-Bruce Seldon fight at the MGM Grand, and as they were leaving the hotel, 2-Pac got into a fight with an unnamed young black man. It has been suggested that this was the cause of the drive-by- shooting; it has also been suggested that Knight's ties to the mob and to gangs were the reason behind the shooting; another theory is that the Notorious B.I.G. arranged the shooting as retaliation for 2-Pac's comments that he slept with Biggie's wife, Faith Evans. Either way, Shakur was shot four times and he was admitted to University of Nevada Medical Center. Six days later, he died from his wounds. Hundreds of mourners appeared at the hospital upon news of his death, and the entire entertainment industry mourned his passing, especially since there were no leads on his death. Many believed his death would end the much-hyped East Coast-West Coast rivalry and decrease Black-on-Black violence. Sadly, six months after his death, his rival the Notorious B.I.G. was murdered in similar
circumstances

Lost Boyz
Rapper Freaky Tah, a member of the Lost Boyz, was shot and killed in the New York borough of Queens on Sunday around 4 a.m. An unidentified gunman, who wore a ski mask, came up behind Tah, fired a shot into the rapper's head, and ran. Witnesses at the scene said the gunman fired into the air after shooting Tah, though police were unable to confirm the report. According to the Associated Press, police do not think robbery was a motive in the killing. Tah, whose real name was Raymond Rodgers, was 27 years old.

Police have apprehended a suspect in connection with the murder of underground Harlem MC Big L (Lamont Coleman). According to New York Police Officer Theresa Farello, Gerard Woodley, 29, was arrested 10:20 a.m. Thursday in a Bronx apartment and charged with second- degree murder. "The suspect had an ongoing dispute with Coleman's brother," Officer Farello told BLAZE Online. Gerard, who also is a native of Harlem, is wanted on a federal warrant for drug trafficking. He will be arraigned in a Manhattan Criminal Court and held without bail. As we last reported, Big L, a member of the Bronx hip hop crew Diggin' in the Crates, (a group of MCs and producers that include Fat Joe, Lord Finesse, Diamond D and Showbiz and A.G.), was gunned down February 15 near his home in Harlem, NY. An upcoming album by DITC, will posthumously feature Big L on several songs

Junior Braithwaite, one of the original members of Bob Marley's seminal reggae group the Wailers, was murdered Wednesday (June 2, 1999) night in the home of a fellow musician in Kingston, Jamaica.

One of two men who were shot and killed by unidentified gunmen in the incident, Braithwaite had recently returned to his homeland after living in Chicago for more than 20 years.

Police are investigating the case.The death marks the second Wailer homicide, following the fatal shooting of co-founding member Peter Tosh at his Kingston home in 1987.

Braithwaite was a member of the original Wailers, formed in Kingston in the early 1960s with Marley, Tosh, Bunny Wailer, and Beverly Kelso. He sang on the 1965 hit "It Hurts To Be Alone."

Though he left the group in 1966, he had reportedly come back to his Caribbean homeland in hopes of reviving his singing career. His death leaves only Wailer and Kelso as surviving members of the original quintet. [Bob Marley died of brain, lung and liver cancer in 1981].~ Stephen Peters

NEW YORK -- Jam Master Jay - the rap icon and DJ who was one-third of the fast-rhyming, groundbreaking trio Run-DMC - was shot dead last night in a Queens recording studio, police sources said.

Two men were buzzed into the second-floor studio shortly before shots were fired inside its lounge at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, police said. As of this morning, police had made no arrests.

The 37-year-old disc jockey, whose real name was Jason Mizell, was shot once in the head in the studio's lounge and died at the scene, said Detective Robert Price, a police spokesman.

Urieco Rincon, 25, who was not a member of Run DMC, was shot in the leg, police said. About five other people in the studio at the time were not hurt...

Doctor Dre, a New York radio station DJ who had been friends with Mizell since the mid-1980s, said, "This is not a person who went out looking for trouble. ... He's known as a person that builds, that creates and is trying to make the right things happen."

Publicist Tracy Miller said Mizell and McDaniels had planned to perform in Washington, D.C., on Thursday at a Washington Wizards basketball game. Mizell had performed on Tuesday in Alabama, she said.

Mizell was married and had three children, she said...

Jam Master Jay, 37, who was also a producer, grew up in Hollis, where he and two childhood friends, Run (Joseph Simmons) and DMC (Darryl McDaniels), came together to form the seminal 1980s band.

Simmons, the younger brother of Def Jam records founder Russell Simmons, first approached McDaniels about forming a rap group. The two then added Jam Master Jay as their DJ in 1982.

The trio popularized the rap genre as well as their signature look: unlaced Adidas sneakers and heavy gold jewelry.

In his book, "It's Like That: A Spiritual Memoir," Simmons attributed the group's look to Mizell.

It was 1984 and Mizell was walking down the street in Jamaica after purchasing some leather pants, a leather jacket, Adidas sneakers, a large gold rope chain, a black hat and some Gazelle glasses.

All eyes were upon Mizell, Simmons said.

"It was like everybody wanted to snatch something from him because he had it going on. I mean nobody had everything: the glasses, the leather, the shoes, and the gold rope," Simmons said. "We were doing well and Jay just was helping to create a nationwide trend and didn't know it."

In the early Wailers lineup, Peter Tosh stood apart from the other members not only because of his six-foot-plus height but because of his boasty-boy attitude. He was known as the "stepping razor" after a song Joe Higgs had written, and his knife-sharp temper could whittle many a bad man down to size. But he had a soft, extremely humorous side as well, as evidenced in his frequent word play: he complained about the "crime ministers who shit in the House of Represent-a-Thief" and called America "A-sad-ica, because there is nothing merry about it." Tosh joined up with Bunny Wailer and Bob Marley in 1962, and they rehearsed nearly two years before they made their Studio One
debut with "Simmer Down." Tosh played guitar, melodica, piano, and organ on
many of their early tracks, and even played behind American pop star Johnny Nash's Columbia Records sessions in the late '60s, when Nash had hired the Wailers as songwriters. By 1973, Tosh felt the need to pursue a solo career because of the mass of material he had written and his dissatisfaction with Island Records boss Chris Blackwell. Legalize It was his debut in 1976, remaking many of his earlier Jamaican recordings and giving the marijuana movement its most potent anthem in the title track, which Tosh would perform not once but twice in his '70s live concerts.
A firm opponent of the hypocritical "shitstem," Tosh was a favorite target of Babylon's legal forces. Police in Jamaica beat him nearly to death on at least
three occasions, and he bore the scars till his death. Equal Rights, 1977's
follow-up, provided a key line that echoed 15 years later in the mouths of LA rioters: "I don't want no peace, I want equal rights and justice!" The Rolling Stones, impressed by Tosh's ferocious and unflinching posture, signed him to their fledgling label and released Bush Doctor in 1978, another series of hymns and harangues. Mystic Man (1979) and Wanted: Dread & Alive (1981) kept a militant attitude while trying to cross over to the mainstream that Marley had conquered, without achieving anything near Marley's success. Following 1983's Mama Africa and a live album from that tour, Tosh disappeared for four years, seeking advice from traditional medicine men in Africa and trying to extricate himself from various recording agreements when he found his records released in South Africa against provisions in his contracts. In 1987, shortly after the release of No Nuclear War, Tosh was assassinated at his home in Kingston. Only one of the three gunmen responsible was arrested; he was sentenced to hang after a brief trial. Like Marley, Tosh left at least ten children and no will.
A brilliant documentary Peter Tosh: Red
X-Stepping Razor was released in 1992, and there is hope that at least one more
album will come out of the vaults.

On Good Friday Carlton Barrett was brutally murdered as he opened the gate to his home. Here we remember and pay tribute to one of the greatest drummers to emerge from the island of Jamaica.

Carlton "Carly" Barrett was the originator of the one drop rhythm, a percussive drumming style. An essential member of the Wailers since 1969, Carly co-wrote "Talkin' Blues" and performed on every Wailer album since. With Carly's beats and his brother Aston's bass, the Wailer rhythm section planted the seeds of today's international reggae. The Barrett brothers came to prominence with their band the Hippy Boys. They began working with Lee "Scratch" Perry, and recorded an international hit, "Return of Django," under the name the Upsetters.

The brothers teamed up with the Wailers in 1969-70 for several singles: "My Cup (Runneth Over)," Duppy Conqueror," Soul Rebel," and Small Axe." These songs became part of a double LP set that Perry released: Soul Rebels and Soul Revolution, and formed the early foundation of the one drop sound. ~Text Copyright 1997, Island Trading Company Inc.